The morning of the Trial

Chapter 39: The morning of the Trial

/Ah, yes. The good old grind for exp. The grind, where exp is only announced after monsters, if that is what people expect. But the thing is, not only killing monsters awards exp.

The system hides many things from us, and some of them we may gain insight to later, but so much for the gaining of exp. Now, what does this mysterious thing even stand for? Excommunication practice? Extermination portfolio? Perhaps extra poisonous?

Well, the most common denomination is "experience points". Simply because they are gained with, well, experience.

Similar to mastery, which increases for each Skill individually, and is often hidden, exp increases almost permanently. Whenever you sleep, whenever you walk, whenever you talk, whenever you somehow interact with the world around you.

The bigger the impact, the more exp you gain. It is just a fact, that killing another creature is a very direct and immediate impact. But you also gain exp for exploring and mapping areas, for creating farms to help others, or even by simply cheering someone up.

This is reflected in one thing that is very often mentioned whenever someone talks about the system, being equality. Absolute and profound fairness, with no one having an advantage over another. The only common denominators of power are time, effort, efficiency, and quite frankly, a pinch of luck. Or should I say "Luck"?

I digress. Exp is awarded equally to any and all actions, based on perceived and actual effect. If someone's heart truly has them believe that that flower they planted will one day save the world, they will gain more exp for that action. However, they will only get the majority of that exp when that action, the saving the world, actually comes to pass.

Improving oneself has a very immediate effect, so training ones stats will reward immediate exp. So will farming, or talking and chatting. Of course, part of that exp will also be mastery, so you can't fully expect to be perfectly rewarded.

But what does this profound equality of professions mean? Some say it is the system's way of reminding us that all are equal, and none should be treated as lesser. Some say it is to create a balanced society, in which people can thrive, and again others say it is to showcase that even slaves can have worth if trained properly.

No one can say what the true reason is, and for all we know, perhaps there is none. Perhaps the system is arbitrarily fair. But the only thing that will remain known for now is that under the system, there are only possibilities. Limitless ones, in every possibly imaginable direction. Because if you can imagine it, and truly put your heart into it, the system will eventually show you a path to reach your goals./

"Limitless and Boundless - The Path", by Lara Lato, the philosophical "Great Follower". Dated book 5, chapter 24, first Lokdan of Summer.

- - - - - -

Foss looked at Avery with the eyes of a beat puppy. The reparations of the gloryhall were not quite yet complete, and Avery wasn't pleased with it, but after a long moment of tense silence, the muscular man finally let out a sigh.

"Alright Foss," he said, "I'll admit you did fine work here. I can't get angry at that. You upheld your contract, as you always do. This has somewhat improved my mood from yesterday. Fenks."

By the end of his sentence, Avery bit off some of his bread, as Foss slowly gave a slight smile.

"All was done as promised, guild master. As always, the Merchants' Guild looks forward to our continued collaboration."

"Yes, yes, we won't take up any contracts with the bank, I got it. Calm down already. It's nothing personal against your entire guild, I just have a problem with some of your methods, and, more specifically, some of your members."

Foss' face froze up slightly, but given that he had quite a few years of experience under his belt, something like this left him unfazed, and he regained his casual smile again within the blink of an eye.

"Of course, master Beckham. It is understandable. The trial today should by all means be executed fairly, anything else would be unbecoming of both our guilds, schoschoscho!"

Avery nodded sternly at this, crossing his arms and leaning back against the repaired doorframe of the gloryhall.

"Good. I think that's all for now then, see you at the trial. You got some good scholars of law hired?"

"Schoscho, the best we could get on such short notice. It will be a fair session, we promise that much."

"Good, or you'll have to replace some your teeth with golden ones," Avery calmy said, taking another bite of bread. Man, "Bread & Butter's" raisin bread just couldn't be beat. If only they had open for long. Such a shame that he couldn't get any at night. Maybe he could have some special service set up soon? No, no, he had work to do. Too much work, as always.

"Uhm, of course, master Beckham..." Foss knew that the threat was serious, but since it was literally telling him that everything should go fairly, and Avery still was the overseer of this investigation as of now, there was nothing he could do. But Foss also knew that Avery wasn't unreasonable.

The guild master of the godseekers wasn't hot headed or blooded, he was usually calm and composed, cracking jokes and hanging out with the members of his guild. But unfortunately, there were two things that could get him angry, one of which was the threat of harm to his guildmates.

The other... now, that was something one would never dare talk about next to Avery, possibly not even in Stormbraver. It was a crime so grave it could never be forgiven, and with consequences Foss shuddered to even imagine. The crime of... touching his bread without permission.

The sly merchant had seen it once before. Someone trying to grab a bite to provoke Avery, and succeeding far more than they would have like. It was so fast Foss could barely see it, but only moments later, Avery's body was steaming with heat, and the thief's fingers, elbows, lower and upper arms were broken, and both his shoulder dislocated. It was an incredible noise, multiple crunching sounds overlapping...

"Hey, you're not thinking about my bread, are you?" Avery asked, taking a sharp glance, scanning the merchant up and down, before dismissing the threat as the man started shivering just from his gaze.

'Fucking better not be thinking about touching my food...' Avery thought, before sending Foss off and finally returning to review the documents and testimonies he had painstakingly compiled. Well, painstaking for him. It was really only a few hours of work, but it was the exact type of pencil pushing Avery despised.

He let out a sigh as he crossed his arms behind his head. "Today will be a long day..." he muttered to himself.

- - - - - -

Lucia was in her office, impatiently tapping her nails against her knee. She was doing her best to maintain her composure, to not ruin all the work Iris had prepared, but slowly she felt the fire in her grow higher. It was simply bothersome. Abominable. Horrendous.

Why did she have to justify her actions to a council of a simple city? It may be the capital of a nation, sure, and that council might even be the leader of the nation, sure. But why did she, the "Voice of Order" have to listen to those old sacks of bricks from a chapter long past?

It was unbelievably irritating, it made her skin crawl, it...

"M'lady, would you like something to drink?" Iris' soft voice rang out in the quiet room, only barely louder than the sound of tapping fingers.

Immediately, Lucia let out a long sigh.

"Chilled tea. Scratch that, frozen tea. Put frozen tea cubes inside a cup of already cold tea. And please, prepare a barrel of it or that flimsy local court building might not see another day..."

She was tired, irritated, and exasperated. Her nerves were already grated, and she felt humiliated. Now, all she could do was to keep her faith placed in guild master Beckham, a man seemingly held in fairly high regard by Nira, who she had grown a little closer with. That was also why she had let him decide on that pitiful boy's punishment.

She had seen it in Beckham's eyes. Seen that roiling fury at the kid, and she knew that if their positions were inversed, she would have been much less polite about asking to be named punisher. Perhaps this was for the best. Perhaps master Beckham was trustworthy, and more loyal to order than he would describe himself. Perhaps.

But she didn't like risking the reputation of the church on a perhaps, even if it was in a somewhat backwater nation like this. It always irked her when things didn't go her way, and with so many enemies conspiring against her, it was difficult to tell friend from foe. The local bank had also offered her support under the name of I'htar.

She had done her research, and come up with no dirt at all. Count I'htar, the golden child of the city, the man of truth. He was spotless, in every way. Many charitable donations to small businesses, orphanages, farms, even offering loans to less credible people and helping them re-establish themselves with his personal help.

Lucia hated him. Instantly. She couldn't bear people who did everything simply to keep up public appearances. Everyone had some dirt on them, no matter who they were. She much preferred people who wore their flaws on their sleeves to people who like to blindfold their opponent while playing Drackjack.

No, someone like him, someone like count I'htar? She much preferred even Foss' rudeness over that. If this man ever tried engaging her again, she would personally make sure her message arrived, maybe nailing his hands to his table or-

"M'lady, I've prepared some tea for you. It's only a liter and a half for now, but I shall make sure that the remainder is prepared for when the trial starts." Iris quickly bowed and headed out again, though Lucia was sure she caught a glimpse of the thankful glance she had thrown at the maid.

She quickly drank up half of Iris' present, and a slim smile found its way on her face. Ah, it was truly always a joy to taste what Iris brought her. She could feel the cold liquid travel down her throat and settling down in her guts, smothering some of the flames that were threatening to devour her. Perhaps she had indulged her thoughts too much.

Oh well. Lucia wore her flaws on her sleeves. She tried to, at least. Sometimes she had to keep her anger in check, but when it came to the people she considered truly reliable, she never once held her tongue. She brutally pointed out everything she disliked, and happily praised everything she liked.

When it came to these trusted people, she was rarely disappointed. Iris was one of them, of course. Another was Archbishop Nemo, and perhaps another was her little brother back home. Ah, but that was of lesser importance now. She had little time left to prepare, and sorting her thoughts came as a priority to letting them stay in the apst.

For now, it was important to make sure their reputation stayed proper, and their foothold in the city remained the same. She would not be swayed by honeyed words, or sugary suggestions that were really a poison coated blade. All of her money was on the few people she could trust, and some of it thus had to rest on guild master Beckham and that beast he dragged around with him.

Ah, she had been harsh in her thoughts again. Iris liked the feline, so she decided to give the mopaaw a chance. But it was truly only one chance, and that was today.

- - - - - -

As Mercury woke up, he stretched his entire body, curling up his tail as a happy smile surfaced on his mouth. He took a deep, deep breath, feeling a new, somewhat half-familiar energy course through him, as he bathed in the rays of sun from his window. It was a good day.

Wait.

Rays of sunlight?

What time was it?

FuckfuckFuckFuckFUCK!!

Immediately and without hesitation, Mercury launched himself down the stairs, barely catching his fall as he channelled mana into his feet, quickly rousing his energy and pumping it throughout his body. He really had to hurry this up.

If it was any later than 10 he might not make it in time for the trial. Damn it, he had rested so well and now this?

He took deep breaths, each of them a little different to the one before. With every breath he could feel himself fall deeper into a certain type of focus, but he pushed this to the side of his mind right now, as he instead used this energy to further boil his mana, straining his legs as he rushed ahead faster than he ever had before.

If he hadn't been in such a hurry, he would have felt the wind in his fur, and the way he used his tail to stabilise himself, and how naturally he ran. It would have been a thrilling experience to get closer to his animalistic and instinctual self, and perhaps, he would have greatly enjoyed it. But given that his head was all over, distracted, tired, and searching for Avery as he powered through the streets, all the wonderful sensations of harmony flew right by him.

After a mere few minutes, he arrived at the gloryhall, its walls being patched up as quite a few eyes of construction workers locked onto him. Avery wasn't around, but there was a smell in the air which he most certainly recognized as that of the guild master. It was that of sweat and grass, mixed with bread and raisins. Maybe the latter part was the more overwhelming one, but nonetheless, Mercury quickly picked it up and began running like he never had before.

No matter the cost, he would keep his promises.

Mercury had promised he would be at the trial on time. He had given his word. If he broke it, he felt something within him wouldn't be quite the same any more. Even if this was maybe a very insignificant promise, in this very moment, it meant the world to Mercury.

And so, he sprinted down the street, going ever faster and faster as people and faced rushed by him, his eyes only focused on the line of smell he could follow to Avery as it slowly grew stronger.

In his state of focus, he narrowly avoided all obstacles. Feet, the occasional child, ball, and even an apple that almost dropped on his head, as he continued rushing faster and faster. And eventually, the smell grew more potent, and Mercury only saw a black boot for a moment, before he came to a painful stop.

He yelped out and then whimpered in pain for a moment, before opening his eyes and looking up at a brightly grinning man with sunglasses on his eyes and bread in his mouth. A truly proper guild master if I do say so myself.

"Hey there my guy. You made it just in time. One block further's the courthouse. Ya ready?"

With heavy panting and bile in his stomach, Mercury pushed out a handful of words.

"I'm... hah, hah... ready... hah... oh my god... hah, hah..."

- - - - - -

Iris did have to stifle a small chuckle to herself as she saw a disheveled cat panting heavily as it walked to the court with master Beckham. Then again, she probably also looked ridiculous, carrying a literal barrel with her.

The maid smirked to herself. Today had started well, and perhaps from now on the proceedings would go smoothly, too? Nira had said she would also make sure to give them a hand in court, and with her vouching for the guild master, things seemed to be proceeding well.

Now, of course, her furry friend was a bit of an unpredictable factor, but overall, it did not matter as much. After all, she was not worried about him. The mopaaw had been a little eccentric, but also charming, and she had always liked their furry aesthetic. They weren't seen much around these parts, but she had always liked them.

So, overall, Iris would say she was in a good mood. She hoped that at least some of it would carry over to the stern figure of her lady...